› added 12 years ago

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TIL that “Da Vinci’s Rule of the Trees” (“all branches of a tree … put together are equal in thickness to the trunk.”) appears to be true - but “looking at big trees, there’s thousands of branches, and it takes a lot of undergrads to measure it.”

PpBG TIL Oleksandr Yanukovych (son of Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych) is worth $510 million. His wealth has increased 7285% since his father took over in 2010.
b6kR0 TIL Priss Fotheringham, famed for popularising 'chucking', an act dating back to ancient Rome. She'd stand on her head naked, legs apart, allowing patrons to toss coins into her "commodity". Legend has it she could fit 16 half-crowns, a notable achievement per modern commentators.
epmak TIL Due to consistent rock falls, Reunion Island (Fr) has created the most expensive road in the World. It has been valued at 1.6 billion euros for 12.5 km. That is 133 million Euros per kilometer. The ring road is built in the ocean to avoid the rocks.
84Ka TIL: Donghua Li was a gymnast from China who got kicked out of the Chinese Gymnastics team after he wanted to marry a Swiss girl he met whilst recuperating from an injury. He became a naturalised citizen of Switzerland and won the gold medal in Atlanta for the pommel horse event.
kMR1 TIL Smile Mask Syndrome is a psychological disorder in which subjects develop depression and physical illness as a result of prolonged, unnatural smiling. First described in Japan in 1983, this is attributed to the great importance placed on smiling in the Japanese service industry.